


Chandeliers

by PurpleArrowzandLeather



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Protective Bruce Wayne
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 16:02:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21460723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleArrowzandLeather/pseuds/PurpleArrowzandLeather
Summary: Dick Grayson is a little angel... most of the time. Here, they have one of the rare occasions when Bruce had to pull out his full name.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 275





	Chandeliers

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing.  
Enjoy :)

His first experience with calling Dick's full name was in the manor when Dick was just a young boy. The tiny, tiny little kid, all of nine years old, had disappeared on him. He had told Dick many times he wasn’t trying to replace his father, but at that moment in time, he wondered if this was how his own father felt chasing him around the house. 

“Dick? Where did you go?” 

The only answer he got was bright and cheerful laughter which seemed to come from everywhere at once. Bruce sighed, rubbing his hand across his brow as he searched every nook and cranny he knew. He made his third pass through the reading room, knowing Dick doesn’t frequent it as a place to actually read, but rather to climb on top of the shelves. 

“Dick, we still have patrol yet tonight, but if you keep this up, I’m going to bench you.” 

To Bruce’s surprise, not even that swayed the boy. 

“Come on, chum. What’s gotten into you?” 

It was then that he heard it. The twinkling of crystals and the soft rattling of chains. Bruce strode back into the entry with a scolding at the ready and glared up at the ceiling. 

“_Richard John Grayson.” _

Dick froze on the chandelier, completely still. He’s eyes were owl-wide and he went a little pale. 

“How many times have I told you not t-” 

It was a tiny, insignificant moment. A light ‘tink’ which to anyone else wouldn’t be of consequence. Dick tensed a fraction of a second after and Bruce’s gut dropped as he moved. _Too slow, too slow. Why was everything so slow? _

The chandelier broke away from the ceiling, Dick’s fingers slipping as he lost his anchor point. His expression morphed from chided to terrified. Bruce leapt forwards, stretching out an arm to catch the boy and twisting away from the falling glass. 

A few heartbeats was all it took, but it may as well have been an eternity. With Dick tucked under his arm, he landed as well as possible. One of his knees hit the floor rather hard, but nothing like some injuries long past. An awkward and slightly sprawled two-point landing as it was, he was fortunate it hadn’t been worse. 

The crashing of the chandelier barely registered. 

Heaving a breath, Bruce settled more fully onto his knees, clutching his son, _his son, _to his chest as if his life depended on it. Not realizing what he was doing, one of his hands cradled Dick’s head as he murmured reassurances he didn’t understand. 

Dick’s shaking hands wound into Bruce’s shirt. “_I almost fell.” _

Bruce hushed him, sinking back and holding onto the boy tightly. “I will never let you.” 

While on patrol that night, Dick wouldn’t follow Bruce over the edge of a rooftop. Bruce merely raised a brow, an action unseen under the cowl, but rather sensed by those close to him. Dick scowled, an expression foreign to his face, but definitely the one Bruce was looking for. 

He backed up, taking a running start and forcing himself to disregard his recently-refreshed sense of self-preservation. For a moment, it was just like that night in the circus tent. The lights flashed at him and screams of horror filled the air. 

Arms slid around him as he collided with someone. The small impact may as well have been a gunshot for what it does to the boy. 

“Dick, chum, look at me.” 

Dick knew that voice and he pulled back enough to see Bruce’s face. He steadied himself on Bruce’s strong shoulders, shifting to get Bruce to let go even as he held fast. 

“Listen to me, chum.” 

He stopped squirming, staring at Bruce even as tears built up in his eyes. 

“You don’t have to be afraid. I know you’re scared, and I know you’re hurting, but I also want you to know this; I won’t ever let you fall. I may not be able to stop every punch, and I may not be able to be what you need me to be all the time, but I’m here for you.” Bruce wrapped his arms more firmly around Dick, smiling gently to himself as the hug was returned. 

The small child in his grip cried into his shoulder, sobs wracking his frame. “_I- I don’t want to fall, Bruce. I don’t want to fall.” _

“I know you don’t, but you want to know why you won’t fall?” 

Dick sniffled a little, nestling as close to Bruce as he could. “Why?” 

“Because,” Bruce hummed, pressing a paternal kiss into the boy’s hair. The trust Dick put in him, in his words, was a surprise. “You were always meant to fly, little bird.” 


End file.
